Cobham Antenna Systems

Microwave Antennas
Specialist Antenna Design and Manufacture
Capabilities
The most important thing we build is trust

SATELLITE COMMERCIAL DEFENCE SURVEILLANCE

Satcoms WiMAX UAV/UGV Radar
Passive/Active WLAN Ground Station Body-Worn
GPS RFID Link16 Covert
BGAN Celllular C-Band Telemetry
Fixed/Mobile ECM
Cobham Antenna Systems
Microwave Antennas British manufacturer - part
of the antenna construction
laboratory

Specialists in the design, engineering and manufacture of microwave antennas

PMR & TETRA

Omni TACTICAL COMMS
Wide Band Link16
Point to Point Links
Point to Multipoint Networks
CELLULAR Man-Pack
DAS WiMAX & LTE
Multiband Base Station
BROADCAST Subscriber
High Frequency MIMO
SECURITY COFDM
Covert
Tracking
Listening Device Detection ELECTRONIC WARFARE
Antennas for IED Countermeasures
Defence Wide Band Spiral
Wide Band Omni
SURVEILLANCE Security Direction Finding
Video (Surveillance)
Cellular Monitoring & Intercept
Satellite
COFDM Commercial

MISSILE UNMANNED SYSTEMS

Conformal Antennas Data Links SATELLITE
Fuse Programming Control Links Ground Based
Telemetry Robotics Mobile Satcom
Command and Control
Override & Abort
RFID
RADAR Zonal Coverage
Portable and Fixed Portal Coverage
WLAN Covert
Stripline and Waveguide
Directional Road Tolling
FMCW and Pulse
Omni
Reflectometer
Dual Band
Aesthetic

Antenna applications Page Antenna applications Page

Defence 4 Surveillance, Monitoring 9
Unmanned Systems 4 Commercial 10
Electronic Warfare 4 Broadcast 10
ISO9001 certification forms the
cornerstone of our customer Tactical Communications 5 RFID 10
service ethos to ensure that the C-Band 5 Cellular 10
company resources are focused Radar 6 WLAN 10
on providing the optimum Missile 6 PMR, Tetra 10
antenna to meet the needs of Satellite 7 WiMAX/LTE 10
our customers. Security 8 Engineering, Technology and Testing 11

2
 FMCW radar antenna array Omni antenna for
Swedish Space
Corporation scientific
experiment

A summary of the main applications for which our antennas can be used Engineering
is contained in this leaflet.
Combining comprehensive knowledge and
We constantly develop antennas for new and emerging markets and experience with the latest software design
applications. If you cannot see what you need, please contact us. tools, the engineering team design antennas
with optimised RF performance to meet
With more than 1000 antenna designs available, our flat panel, sector,
customer’s specific requirements.
omni, hemi omni and ultra wideband antennas are used in locations as
diverse as UAVs, helicopters, aircraft, missiles, race cars, railway systems, Sales
TV cameras, weather buoys and satellites.
Our experienced sales team has an
Applications include WLAN, Link16, Surveillance, Telemetry, Electronic understanding of applications in a wide range
News Gathering, WiMAX, Common Data Links and Radar. of markets which, when combined with their
significant technical knowledge ensures that
The company’s production, development and testing facilities are
customers are offered the right products for
based in one UK location which ensures fast transition from design to
their exact needs.
production.
Catalogue
Our antennas are supplied to some of the largest organisations and
companies worldwide, with over 60% exported. Our catalogue includes a wide range of
antennas including high gain, multi-layer printed
All antennas are tested throughout development to ensure they meet
circuit arrays, directional, sector, ultra wideband
quoted specifications and comply with relevant legislation.
spirals, collinear omnis and multi-octave
Environmental testing can be carried out to recognised standards. bicones in various off-the-shelf designs.
Single UK location
Located in a single centre of excellence for the
• Our reputation is based on our customer focused design,
design, test and manufacture of antennas.
supplying high performance antennas from 100MHz to
40GHz
• Proven expertise in all aspects of RF performance
• More than 1000 antenna designs
• Appropriate mechanical design to meet the specified
environment
• Approved supplier to international defence organisations
• Mil standard qualification is available
• ISO9001 certification

European Antennas Ltd (formed in 1991) trading as Cobham Antenna

Systems, Microwave Antennas, part of Cobham plc since 1999.

3
Defence
Blade antennas installed on Remote controlled
Boeing prototype X-48B bomb disposal
Blended Wing Body UAV

Unmanned Airborne Systems Airborne or Ground Electronic Warfare Ultra Wideband 100MHz
based platforms to 18GHz
Unmanned Systems provide operational IED Countermeasures
functions for airborne and remote ground Control Data Link Directional Planar Spiral
Having detected RF signals which are associated
surveillance, video transmission, border patrol Robotics Omni-Directional
with threats (missile radar or IED), one of
and tactical systems. In all cases uninterrupted
the possible evasive actions is to deny use High Power
communication to the control centre is vital.
of the RF spectrum by countering (jamming) Direction Finding
Competing performance and cost criteria are an important consideration with appropriate levels (10 to 100 Watts) of
when selecting the antenna. Standard, cost-effective, entry-level, high microwave energy at the same frequencies. Jamming
performance antennas are available that are already used on Unmanned
If the direction of the threat is known a
Systems in extreme environments.
directional high power, high gain antenna
The correct antenna is critical to ensure system performance, battery-life would be most appropriate. If the direction is
and transmission range. Included in our range are: unknown then an omni antenna would provide
• High gain collinear, vertically polarised, omni antennas installed in 360° blanket coverage.
aerodynamic structures As RF sources and amplifiers used for jamming
XPO2V-2.0-18.0/1397
• Common Data Link (CDL) Ku-band omni antennas have circular are developed to cover wider bands at higher (2 to 18GHz) (LEFT) and
polarisation and up to 4dBiC gain power, it is important that appropriate antennas XPO2V-0.8-6.0GF/1441

• Spiral antennas, phase and amplitude matched, for direction finding are developed in parallel. The antennas must be (0.8to 6GHz)

wide-open, covering all specified bands without

• Directional antennas for communication between airborne towed
target and the towing aircraft tuning. For omni antennas peak gain must be on the horizon at all
frequencies, they must be small enough to be used by foot soldiers and
Ground Control Centre Antennas
rugged for vehicle applications, with high efficiency to extend battery life.
Antennas are available for both the control centre and remote platform.
We have a portfolio of ultra wideband omni and
The ground based antenna normally provides the high gain part of the
directional planar spiral antennas in the range
link and could be an omni, sector or directional antenna. A high gain
100MHz to 18GHz covering all of the bands in
directional antenna is likely to require a two-axis steering system. A less
which high power amplifiers currently operate.
complex but compact multi-sector antenna
array provides intermediate range coverage High Power Planar Spiral Antennas
and can be used for quick deployment, tactical
applications. The reflector-backed spiral has no absorber to
can handle up to 100Watts, fully efficiently,
with up to 8dBi peak gain, giving an impressive
level of EIRP for Countermeasures. The
Brochure available on Brochure available for IED
reflector-spiral antenna provides circular
Unmanned Airborne CM and EW antennas
polarisation which can have benefits where the
Systems antennas
polarisation of the threat signal is unknown.

SBA-38/919 SBA-900/1249 SA9-120-1.3V/1445 XPO2V-1650-3000/1354 XPO2V-1.0-6.0/1442 Two PSA0218L/1333 phase

Blade Blade Sector, 9dBi, 120° Omni UWB Omni UWB matched cavity-backed spirals
3.80-4.00GHz 0.90-0.93GHz 1.20-1.45GHz 1.65-3.00GHz 1.00-6.00GHz 2.0 - 18.0GHz

4
Defence
Link16 antennas Omni antennas on
armoured vehicles

Tactical Communications Link16 C-Band (4.4 to 6.0GHz) Fixed and Mobile

Antennas for tactical communications cover JTIDS Directional Military and Security
a wide variety of systems that are used by JTRS Data Links
A directional antenna radiates in one
convoys, airborne vehicles, soldiers and control
MIDS direction providing gain from 7dBi to WLAN
centres.
26dBi, depending on the size of the
Body-Worn Telemetry
antenna. They are usually slim flat
Link16 Common Data Link panels with a discreet profile and may be Video and Voice Links
The Link16 protocol uses frequency bands that Point to Point Links mounted on a wall or mast and painted
cover 960-1215MHz. Our range of extended to blend in with the surroundings.
Point to Multipoint
performance broadband omni antennas has Low wind loading and robust
Networks
been designed for use in Link16 terrestrial construction allow our antennas to be
and naval systems communicating with used in demanding environments.
airborne platforms. All Link16 antennas are
rugged, designed for extremes of weather Omni-Directional
and temperature, and have been tested under Our tough omni antennas are rugged
theatre conditions without affecting the enough for deployment on all types of FPA20-47V/1323
performance or inhibiting mission requirements. Directional antenna
vehicles as well as fixed installations with
Extended range and operation can be achieved spring mount options.
by using sector antennas in a diversity Sector and Multi-Sector Antennas for Base Stations
application.
Sector antennas are normally used as base stations. They have narrow
Battlefield Communications Brochure available for elevation beams and can be designed with null-fill, electrical downtilt and
Link16 antennas sidelobe suppression. Clearly defined, wide, azimuth coverage ranges
Reliable radio communications are crucial in from 30° to 210° in the horizontal plane with profiled vertical coverage.
theatre. Slim, light weight man-pack/body-
worn antennas are designed to provide an Multi-sector arrays provide high gain, wide area coverage and are
improved signal pattern for a greater all round contained in a single radome.
coverage. A further benefit is provided by MSA6-15-46L/879
circular polarisation that alleviates the problem Multi-Sector Antenna with 5
of polarisation mismatch when soldiers are sectors and 1 overhead, with

in different orientations with respect to and without radome.

each other. These antennas have the added

advantage of being less intrusive and more
comfortable for the wearer.
Brochure available for
C-Band antennas

DPA2-2.3V/1611 XPO3V-500-1300/034 XVO4-960-1215/1425 SA17-60-4.7V/1419 VOA8-47/1170 FPA21-10A-47R/591

Body-Worn Omni Omni Sector Omni Directional
2.28-2.55GHz 0.50-1.30GHz 0.96-1.21GHz 4.40-5.00GHz 4.40-5.00GHz 4.40-4.85GHz

5
Defence
MARK Resources Conformal
HSTAT High Speed antennas for
Target Acquisition and missiles
Tracking radar system

Radar Portable and Fixed Missile Conformal Antennas

There are a wide variety of radar systems Stripline and Fuse Programming
operating across the RF spectrum and they all Waveguide
Ground and Airborne
work on the principle of a high power pulse or FMCW
Telemetry
CW transmitted RF signal being reflected from
Pulse
the ‘target’ and usually being received by the Command and
same (or nearby) antenna. Control

Cobham Antenna Systems, Microwave Antennas has developed antennas Override and Abort
for radar in Stripline and Waveguide for CW Doppler, FMCW, fixed beam Antennas can be conformal
pulse, and reflectometer arrays. to avoid compromising
aerodynamics
The antenna characteristics are critical to the system performance in
order to resolve the target image.
Conformal ‘wrap-around’ telemetry antenna for missile
Sophisticated modelling techniques combined with 20 years of
experience in the design of microwave antennas will provide customers
with an efficient, reliable antenna that meets their exact requirements.
The company’s near-field spherical anechoic test chamber supplies
accurate patterns and 3-D images to demonstrate compliance with
customers’ specifications. An S-band antenna (2.3GHz, 20MHz bandwidth)
has been developed to transmit telemetry data
from a missile.
Other types include patch and omni antenna
that may be integrated into fins and wingtips.
Brochure available for
antennas designed for

32 off panel antennas on

CW Doppler Radar System
for BAE Systems

FPA29-105V/1246 X-Band, Directional Reflectometer array SBA-2.3V/1470 HDA-1275/1148

Directional antenna for radar Blade Blade
2.00-2.50GHz 1.20-1.35GHz

6
Satellite
Satellite image of the fires raging Positioning TROLL - high gain directional
across California taken by UK-DMC antennas provide Inmarsat data links for
satellite, which carries the nadir differential GPS.
antenna for a GPS reflectometry Photograph courtesy of Shell Norske
experiment

Satellite Ground Based and Satellite/GPS integrated antennas

Mobile Satcom for use with Thuraya satphone
Fixed installations docking units and SM2500
Inmarsat
High gain directional antennas can be pointed module
Surrey Satellite
at the correct azimuth and elevation angles so The FPA15-1.6L/1535 panel
Technology Ltd
that peak gain is directed towards the satellite antenna can be used to operate
for fixed installations. They can be located Directional antennas the ThurayaIP unit at its
anywhere within the satellite footprint. for Meteosat maximum data rate.
Suitable for SCADA applications. Iridium High gain directional antenna
Passive and Active
This antenna has 22dBiC gain. Measuring
GPS antennas
890x890x10mm, it replaces a 1.2m dish.
Thuraya
1.52 to 1.66GHz
Satellite/GPS integrated antennas for use with Remote antenna for Inmarsat BGAN system
Thuraya satphone and SM2500 module
This slim, directional antenna can be used with
A choice of antennas provides connectivity tripod mount. The antenna has 17dBiC gain, FPA21-1.6R/1127
within Thuraya satellite coverage, used for land left and right circular polarisation and operates
mobile and fixed installations. within -50° to +50°C and 95% Relative Humidity.
Integral active GPS antenna for fast GPS
acquisition and ease of installation. Data Collection Platforms and Weather Ships

Rugged, light weight, fully sealed. Rugged, hemi-omni antenna withstands a

HOA2-159L/GPS/1486 hostile environment to provide meteorological
data using a 402MHz satellite up-link.
Photograph courtesy of the Met Office.

Mobile/Portable Nadir antenna

Passive vehicle antenna for low For Surrey Satellite Technology’s
elevation. Suitable for mobile UK-DMC satellite this L-band
applications. Hemi omni antenna, antenna has high gain, 10° offset
HOA2-159L-GPS/1548 mounted from bore-site and was designed to
on vehicle in Australia. help avoid RF interference.
Photograph courtesy of Optus. Photograph courtesy of SSTL.

HOA2-1.6L/1404 FPA8-1.6RL/1563 FPA7-1.6V/1510 LPA7-1.6L-GPS/1459 LPA7-1.6L/1405 HOA20159L-GPS/1548

Hemi Omni Directional Directional Directional Directional Hemi Omni

7
Security and Surveillance
Suffolk Air Vehicle mount
Operations Unit antennas
EC135 helicopter.
Photo courtesy of
Eurocopter

Security IED Countermeasures Directional antennas with narrow beams

Counter Terror reduce the possibility of intercept
Small, discreet and robust, our antennas are
used for covert and overt systems within Surveillance High gain sector antennas for point-to-
security and surveillance applications around mobile systems
COFDM
the world. For obvious reasons it is not possible Data and video streaming
to divulge these applications. UAVs
Optimised system performance by
Practical, efficient and cohesive Video Transmission
selection of transmit and receive, fixed
communications between staff, wherever they PMR and Tetra and mobile antennas
are, and central control is essential.
Covert Data transmission for real-time, informed,
Our antennas are used within many types of decision-making
Tagging
applications including surveillance, unmanned
vehicles, IED Countermeasures, video Telemetry Antennas can be mounted on cameras for
transmission, COFDM, PMR and Tetra systems. ENG (Electronic News Gathering)
• High speed data and video links between Long distance links
helicopter and base station for real time Directional antenna with
right circular polarisation
Discreet designs for covert operations
monitoring, long distance links
FPA16-3.4R/1658
• ISM band 3.35 to 3.45 GHz

• Switch sector base stations for tracking and

covert surveillance.

• Remote monitoring via CCTV, motion

and perimeter protection, PIR, RF intruder
detection and covert systems.

• Inter-communication between operators and

command for protection of security patrols, Example Frequencies
0.9GHz Cellular intercept
control of traffic, visitor access, building entry
1.2 - 1.4GHz Data and video links
and facility monitoring in docks, warehouses
1.394GHz ±5MHz Video for security & CCTV
or airports. 1.5GHz Military telemetry
2.3-2.5GHz Video links
Applications include mobile and fixed systems in
2.42 - 2.48GHz ISM band
metropolitan areas, rail stations, airports, sports arenas,
shopping malls and other large building complexes 3.6 - 4.0GHz Grand Prix telemetry
4.4 - 4.8GHz Helicopter links
10.0GHz Secure comms link

SA9-120-1.3V/1560 OA-1.5V1630 HDA-1.3V/1488 compact

Sector UWB Omni Directional antenna for
1.15-1.45GHz 1.00-2.00GHz body worn systems
1.26-1.40GHz

8
Security and Surveillance
Sports stadia Front line, video
surveillance utilising
helmet mounted
antennas

Multi Sector Antenna for COFDM Airports

A miniature Multi Sector antenna in the 2.0- Rail Stations Front line video surveillance
2.7GHz band is available specifically for use with Underground Train Body worn camera and
COFDM (Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Networks helmet mounted antenna
system - full scale public
Multiplexed) radios.
Government Buildings order training exercise
COFDM provides significant benefits by Kent Police using
Military Compounds
equipment developed by
over conventional analogue microwave
Stadia Reveal Media and Cobham
transmissions, especially in high multi-path Surveillance
environments such as dense urban areas. It is Perimeter Monitoring
possible to virtually eliminate Fade even in Non
Vehicles
Line of Sight (NLOS) situations, through the use
of spatial antenna diversity schemes. Helicopters
Ground Stations High gain, circular
For this reason COFDM systems are being polarised omni antenna
used for National Security, Police and Military in the 2.4GHz band,
alleviates the need for
applications where it is vital that integrity of video and data links is
expensive airborne
maintained under the most imposing situations. tracking systems. They
can be mounted in (or on)
Model MSA6-2.4V/1795 has 6 antennas and is contained within a rugged
vehicles for mobile WLAN
housing which is only 6.5 inches diameter (155mm) x 12 inches tall
(300mm).

Five of the antennas are sector antennas, each of which has up to 9dBi
peak gain and azimuth beamwidths of 120°. They provide a very high
level of overlap so that the COFDM radio can practically use 3-4 sectors
worth of data at any time for recombination, ensuring that even very 6-way, circular polarised,
localized transient fading (especially associated with use in mobile switch sector antenna
applications) is eliminated. used to track and receive
video and telemetry from
The Multi Sector antenna contains a sixth antenna which is up-looking helicopters over London

to provide complete hemispherical coverage. This increases the practical

applications and maximizes operational flexibility for the antenna for
rapid deployment as well as temporary and fixed installations.

XPO2V-500-1300/1351 EVD2-1.5V/1646 vertically Vertically polarised omnis,

extended performance polarised omni antenna 184x32mm Ø, for
omni antenna and IED CM for mounting on UAV L-band, S-band and
0.50-1.30GHz 1.40-1.525GHz C-band

Azimuth patterns showing 9dBi

peak gain, 120° beamwidth and
high level of overlap for the five
sector antennas

9
Commercial
Sector antenna WLAN RFID for tracking
coverage in Sydney valuable goods

Electronic News Gathering (ENG) RFID Zonal Coverage

COFDM Portal Coverage
Covert
A range of transmit antennas can be mounted
on to a video camera, as well as being used for Road Tolling
digital and video uplinks from ground station or
This range of omni and directional RFID
mobile vehicle to helicopter. Photo from P4 Productions
antennas covers the 433MHz and 868MHz, and
These robust, small, discreet antennas makes them ideal for outside 915MHz and 2.5GHz bands for non-European
broadcast applications in the most demanding of locations such as on installations. RFID road tolling
safari or mountaineering.
Video communications are now an essential part of many sporting
activities so these light weight, small antennas are ideal.

Cellular DAS WLAN Directional

Multiband Omni
Our antennas are used as microcell base Dual Band
stations in dense RF locations and for GSM
based data communications systems. WLAN omni-directional, directional and sector
antennas are available in 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and
There are single band antennas, plus dual and 5.8GHz frequency bands. Dual band antennas
tri-band antennas for GSM900, GSM1800, allow simple upgrade paths between protocols. Cargo monitoring at Port
PCS1900 and 3G. Ultra wideband antennas Discreet appearance Dual slant 45° polarisation antennas provide of Felixstowe

cover these frequencies as well as WiFi diversity for all applications. Multiple antennas can be designed to
hotspots and WLAN for Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). be housed in a single radome to aid architectural approval. Used for
This wide range of antennas includes sector base stations, omni- metropolitan and rural WiFi networks, point-to-point and point-to-
directional and directional panel antennas with a variety of gain, multipoint and COFDM systems.
polarisation and beam patterns.

PMR and TETRA WiMAX and LTE Base Station,

Subscriber, MIMO
Antennas have been designed to cover
The VECTOR range of antennas meets demanding
PMR and Tetra bands. Installations include
RF specifications required for the WiMAX,
discreet locations in the prestigious St Pancras
LTE, WLAN and WiFi, offering flexible antenna
International railway station and London
solutions across a range of frequency bands.
Heathrow Airport Terminals.
The VECTOR range consists of sector antennas
In each case designs had to conform to strict
Omni antennas for WLAN (60°, 90° and 120° azimuth coverage), high gain
RF specifications while meeting architect
directional antennas and omni antennas (2 to
approval and fitting within demanding Brochure available for
11dBi gain).
structures. Vector antennas for
All antennas are available with vertical WiMAX and LTE

polarisation, however base station sector

antennas can be supplied with horizontal, dual
polar or ±45° polarisation.

10
Engineering, Technology and Testing

Spherical Near-field Test Range Environmental Testing Capabilities

Measurement Capabilities The on-site spherical near-field test range is • Vibration
Frequency Range 0.4 to 40 GHz
an example of our commitment to enhancing
• Shock – gravity
development facilities and technical support to
Max Antenna Dimension 1.5m
customers. • Bounce
Max Antenna Mass 5 kg
This facility provides radiation pattern data to • Bench handling – impact
Max Antenna Directivity 40dBi verify specifications and to ensure compliance
• Life testing
Measurement Method Multi-frequency spherical with stringent radiation pattern envelopes
near-field where necessary. The far field radiation • Centrifugal
Measurement Platform PNA-X network analyser pattern of the antenna can be calculated in any
• Seismic
direction, in any polarisation, circular or linear,
Measurement Time Depending on antenna
at any angle. • Temperature
specification and frequency
Operating within 0.4GHz to 40GHz, it has a • Humidity
Data Extraction Capabilities
dynamic range performance down to 800MHz. • Altitude
Far-field gain over full 3D surface
Testing times depend on antenna size in • Ingress
Far-field axial ratio over full 3D surface
wavelengths and the number of measurement
Far-field phase over full 3D surface frequencies. Gain measurements can be • Sand and dust
Performance data in Cartesian or polar formats provided as well as directivity. • Salt corrosion
Text files of performance over full 3D surface An additional benefit of the spherical near • Susceptibility to fluids
Holographic back projection to antenna surface field test facility is the ability to perform back
projections on to a given plane within the Hologram Amplitude of 1688-03.NSI
Near-field raw data
measurement sphere. A holographic back
X-Y Spreadsheet
projection on to the aperture of the antenna
highlights material defects that might affect
antenna performance, and enables them to
be resolved at the design stage. It is possible
to determine the affects of coupling within
a circuit that may cause amplitude, phase
corruption within an array or if there is
unwanted radiation off the feed circuit.

Polar Spreadsheet
3D image of antenna far field radiation pattern

11
OTHER BROCHURES

Antenna Catalogue Ground Control Antenna Testing

Link16 Unmanned Systems IED Countermeasures WiMAX and LTE C-Band Radar Systems

Cobham Antenna Systems, Microwave Antennas

M: Cobham Antenna Systems, Microwave Antennas
Lambda House, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 9RG, UK
T: +44 (0)1638 732177
F: +44 (0)1638 731999
E: [email protected]

European Antennas Limited trading as Cobham Antenna Systems, Microwave Antennas

Certificate No 9263 for
Cobham Antenna Systems, Microwave Antennas Capability, Issue 1 2010-08 European Antennas Limited

©European Antennas Limited

European Antennas Limited has a policy of continuous development and stress that the www.cobham.com/antennasystems/newmarket
information provided is a guide only and does not constitute an offer or contract or part thereof.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this brochure,
no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions.
All photography is copyright and is used with thanks to the respective owners.